Andy—thank you for including my writing in your article this week. At the time, leaving Instagram truly felt like a monumental decision. Fast forward nearly a year, and it was indeed one of the simplest things I've ever done, with the most profound impact on my life and well-being. I've never felt more present, both as an individual and as a photographer. I'd encourage anyone who doesn't rely on the platform for income to take the plunge. I've discovered a handful of genuinely thoughtful and inspiring writers here on Substack where I can focus my attention, and I've traded the time I once spent with thousands of Instagram "friends" for more meaningful moments with the people in my real life who truly matter and actively show up.
IG is required. Though for me at least, rules around usage are also required. Like many artists, I need uninterrupted time to create, think, and be silent. There is no other way to create something meaningful. If social media has unrestricted access to me, I fail. The good news is I can silence my devices and shut them in a drawer anytime I like. I like to think I'm getting better at this;-)
Andy - Greatly appreciate your continuing to bring this topic up, and also noting per "damn these algorithms" that I was encouraged to reply by seeing this post on Foto app (more on that later).
I am also, like some commenters, slowly weaning myself off of Instagram, but finding it hard to shake it. The real issue, to my mind, is actually quite simple. Instagram has become the curator and gatekeeper for artistic fame, credibility and the financial and personal gain that goes with it in ways that are not matched by any other traditional art forms (more on that later too).
For a number of years I taught social media and marketing and the seminal text I used with students was Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody”. Shirky’s thesis, which I accepted wholeheartedly at the time, was that now that media and distribution was owned by “everybody”, everyone could see new truths, information and creative work without the need of editors, gatekeepers or government controlled platforms that hid these things from us all. And it worked for a while, an explosion of new ways of distributing images led to new discoveries, a renaissance for photographic vision and new image makers finding their way to public attention. But then it rapidly fell upon itself with the need for constant advertising and profit which led to ever more tools and gatekeeping methods to ensure that as many people as possible would return to the platform. Leading to a general lowering of quality of experience, standards and creative energy. Cory Doctorow explains this much better than I can in his essay “The Enshittification of TikTok”.
But other traditional art forms, literature, painting, sculpture etc. have generally do not have to face curation by algorithm. Sure artists may market themselves on social media, but if you write fiction your gatekeeping and curation work in the old fashioned way: You submit to journals or magazines, you get a short story published, you get an agent and maybe you get published. Sure, its a system that is full of favoritism and corruption. And no one can accuse publishers of not having a profit motive. But ultimately I’m beginning to feel that this old school method leads to better and higher quality outcomes.
And I get that this sounds elitist, but this is where the issues you and Michael Wriston have raised in “Where’s Your Community” really come to a head. The communities that exist on Instagram are built on the foundation of an algorithmic curation that takes advantage of our own need for approval and positive curation (and profit) that is slowly rotting at the core. The only advantage the platforms hold that keeps us there is that “everybody” is there. Foto, Glass and other apps will not be able to build communities in the same way because the critical mass does not, yet, exist exactly because they mute the possibility of algorithmic gatekeeping. We have to do the hard work of community building ourselves and if we stick with it I believe that ultimately the quality and experience will be much better.
I had a really great community in Chicago. We’d all meet regularly, for coffee to take a break from the cold, or a long walk. Talk endlessly about photography, what we were working on, family, life. In Miami, it’s been more difficult as I don’t make portraits of people at the beach. That’s anathema to my soul🤣. That said, I’m not great with social media. I do however enjoy Glass, and FB- as that’s where I met many people online that gave me my first few opportunities. IG is a corporate hellscape. I’ll put up a story now and again, but it’s more akin to tying my shoelaces, something I mindlessly do. I am however enjoying the people I follow here.
Really interesting breakdown. I think Instagram is still a go to platform for lots of brands and creators. But a true photography community who cares about the art and photography itself I think is forever gone. But substack has been a lovely alternative IMO
I was always surprised that Flickr didn't do a better job to capture the social media moment so many years ago. For some reason, that app never took for me. Most of the people that I'm connected to don't use it.
IG, at least my feed, is completely overrun by reels and ads. Photog community? Where? And how would I ever see new & interesting post when the effing algorithm *completely* buries them all? IG is useless, threads gets zero traction, bluesky is most definitely not a place for art, not-twitter is naziland. That leaves FB, which is severely problematic and infuriating, but at least I can find and participate in photography and other communities I care about.
I remember a very, very long time ago when someone was explaining social media to me (a guru, I'm sure) and they said it was like a big cocktail party.
You walk in and you can stroll up to a group already engaged in a conversation. You add some value and the conversation grows. But if you walk up to a group chatting about food and someone says (loudly), "Hey, speaking of food, I have a restaurant and here's 25% off if you go today!" you're going to be bounced or at the very least ignored.
That was the old days. Today, the scroll is Food, Football, Photography, Funeral Homes, Fantasy Games roughly in that order.
The algorithm is good but that's where ads come in.
I don't know of a future where art is served by social media for more than 3.76 seconds.
The days of gallery walking are gone.
We, the Creatives, need to work to reset that narrative...if we can.
Thank you for this Andy! It is so great to read posts like this, and everyone's comments. You all put words to my intuition.
I stopped posting regularly on IG in 2022 without really knowing why. Slow quiting is the term nowdays. I am on other platforms, but the truth is I am tired of all algorithmic feeds (and apparently I am not the only one.)
Art deserves authentic connections, conversation and community. Perhaps Substack or Photo can rise to the occasion. We shall see. Cheers to all those who are being conscientious with their time online!
I still use Instagram to like and comment on posts, direct message contacts, and make the occasional post.
As a nude (non-explicit, non-sexual) photographer, sharing my work on social media is challenging because of censorship. In the past, Facebook banned me twice, both times for posting images with male nipples. There was no way to appeal.
So, in late 2018, rather than wasting my time battling with social media posts, I channeled my energy into publishing an artistic nude photography digital magazine to share my work freely and without censorship. I invited a few photographer friends to join me. And that’s how I got started. Seven years later, the magazine is still going strong, with 76 issues published. That’s over 4900 pages all produced by me, with contributions from around the world.
While I love seeing photos is print, the cost and logistics of producing a printed magazine are prohibitive, especially the cost of postage and issues with customs duty. So, I produce a print-ready PDF of every magazine that contributors can download and run off hard copies for personal and non-commercial use.
Andy—thank you for including my writing in your article this week. At the time, leaving Instagram truly felt like a monumental decision. Fast forward nearly a year, and it was indeed one of the simplest things I've ever done, with the most profound impact on my life and well-being. I've never felt more present, both as an individual and as a photographer. I'd encourage anyone who doesn't rely on the platform for income to take the plunge. I've discovered a handful of genuinely thoughtful and inspiring writers here on Substack where I can focus my attention, and I've traded the time I once spent with thousands of Instagram "friends" for more meaningful moments with the people in my real life who truly matter and actively show up.
IG is required. Though for me at least, rules around usage are also required. Like many artists, I need uninterrupted time to create, think, and be silent. There is no other way to create something meaningful. If social media has unrestricted access to me, I fail. The good news is I can silence my devices and shut them in a drawer anytime I like. I like to think I'm getting better at this;-)
Andy - Greatly appreciate your continuing to bring this topic up, and also noting per "damn these algorithms" that I was encouraged to reply by seeing this post on Foto app (more on that later).
I am also, like some commenters, slowly weaning myself off of Instagram, but finding it hard to shake it. The real issue, to my mind, is actually quite simple. Instagram has become the curator and gatekeeper for artistic fame, credibility and the financial and personal gain that goes with it in ways that are not matched by any other traditional art forms (more on that later too).
For a number of years I taught social media and marketing and the seminal text I used with students was Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody”. Shirky’s thesis, which I accepted wholeheartedly at the time, was that now that media and distribution was owned by “everybody”, everyone could see new truths, information and creative work without the need of editors, gatekeepers or government controlled platforms that hid these things from us all. And it worked for a while, an explosion of new ways of distributing images led to new discoveries, a renaissance for photographic vision and new image makers finding their way to public attention. But then it rapidly fell upon itself with the need for constant advertising and profit which led to ever more tools and gatekeeping methods to ensure that as many people as possible would return to the platform. Leading to a general lowering of quality of experience, standards and creative energy. Cory Doctorow explains this much better than I can in his essay “The Enshittification of TikTok”.
But other traditional art forms, literature, painting, sculpture etc. have generally do not have to face curation by algorithm. Sure artists may market themselves on social media, but if you write fiction your gatekeeping and curation work in the old fashioned way: You submit to journals or magazines, you get a short story published, you get an agent and maybe you get published. Sure, its a system that is full of favoritism and corruption. And no one can accuse publishers of not having a profit motive. But ultimately I’m beginning to feel that this old school method leads to better and higher quality outcomes.
And I get that this sounds elitist, but this is where the issues you and Michael Wriston have raised in “Where’s Your Community” really come to a head. The communities that exist on Instagram are built on the foundation of an algorithmic curation that takes advantage of our own need for approval and positive curation (and profit) that is slowly rotting at the core. The only advantage the platforms hold that keeps us there is that “everybody” is there. Foto, Glass and other apps will not be able to build communities in the same way because the critical mass does not, yet, exist exactly because they mute the possibility of algorithmic gatekeeping. We have to do the hard work of community building ourselves and if we stick with it I believe that ultimately the quality and experience will be much better.
I had a really great community in Chicago. We’d all meet regularly, for coffee to take a break from the cold, or a long walk. Talk endlessly about photography, what we were working on, family, life. In Miami, it’s been more difficult as I don’t make portraits of people at the beach. That’s anathema to my soul🤣. That said, I’m not great with social media. I do however enjoy Glass, and FB- as that’s where I met many people online that gave me my first few opportunities. IG is a corporate hellscape. I’ll put up a story now and again, but it’s more akin to tying my shoelaces, something I mindlessly do. I am however enjoying the people I follow here.
Really interesting breakdown. I think Instagram is still a go to platform for lots of brands and creators. But a true photography community who cares about the art and photography itself I think is forever gone. But substack has been a lovely alternative IMO
There is only one place to see photographs from every photo genre imaginable and that of course is Flickr.
I was always surprised that Flickr didn't do a better job to capture the social media moment so many years ago. For some reason, that app never took for me. Most of the people that I'm connected to don't use it.
IG, at least my feed, is completely overrun by reels and ads. Photog community? Where? And how would I ever see new & interesting post when the effing algorithm *completely* buries them all? IG is useless, threads gets zero traction, bluesky is most definitely not a place for art, not-twitter is naziland. That leaves FB, which is severely problematic and infuriating, but at least I can find and participate in photography and other communities I care about.
I hear you, Marc, and I agree, it's not easy. Have you tried Foto?
I just signed up. Will see how that goes. Fingers crossed.
Who knew needlepoint was so popular??
Looking forward to the video of your talk.
I remember a very, very long time ago when someone was explaining social media to me (a guru, I'm sure) and they said it was like a big cocktail party.
You walk in and you can stroll up to a group already engaged in a conversation. You add some value and the conversation grows. But if you walk up to a group chatting about food and someone says (loudly), "Hey, speaking of food, I have a restaurant and here's 25% off if you go today!" you're going to be bounced or at the very least ignored.
That was the old days. Today, the scroll is Food, Football, Photography, Funeral Homes, Fantasy Games roughly in that order.
The algorithm is good but that's where ads come in.
I don't know of a future where art is served by social media for more than 3.76 seconds.
The days of gallery walking are gone.
We, the Creatives, need to work to reset that narrative...if we can.
Thank you for this Andy! It is so great to read posts like this, and everyone's comments. You all put words to my intuition.
I stopped posting regularly on IG in 2022 without really knowing why. Slow quiting is the term nowdays. I am on other platforms, but the truth is I am tired of all algorithmic feeds (and apparently I am not the only one.)
Art deserves authentic connections, conversation and community. Perhaps Substack or Photo can rise to the occasion. We shall see. Cheers to all those who are being conscientious with their time online!
I still use Instagram to like and comment on posts, direct message contacts, and make the occasional post.
As a nude (non-explicit, non-sexual) photographer, sharing my work on social media is challenging because of censorship. In the past, Facebook banned me twice, both times for posting images with male nipples. There was no way to appeal.
So, in late 2018, rather than wasting my time battling with social media posts, I channeled my energy into publishing an artistic nude photography digital magazine to share my work freely and without censorship. I invited a few photographer friends to join me. And that’s how I got started. Seven years later, the magazine is still going strong, with 76 issues published. That’s over 4900 pages all produced by me, with contributions from around the world.
While I love seeing photos is print, the cost and logistics of producing a printed magazine are prohibitive, especially the cost of postage and issues with customs duty. So, I produce a print-ready PDF of every magazine that contributors can download and run off hard copies for personal and non-commercial use.
I love this idea! You may have just inspired me to take the plunge and finally start writing. Thank you! ✨️